F1 is dark until Miami, but nobody told the Scottish Premiership to take a break. In Episode 163, the Tackling the Chicane crew digs into F2's unprecedented decision to race in North America, the ripple effect that's had on Colton Herta's Indy 500 dreams, and then spends the bulk of the show on a Dundee vs Celtic match that mattered far more than the lopsided fixture on paper suggested. Celtic ground out a 2-1 win away at Dundee, and in doing so kept themselves within three points of the Scottish Premiership summit heading into the league split — a three-way title race that genuinely hasn't been seen north of the border in years.

If you're searching for how Celtic did at Dundee, what's going on with F2's calendar shakeup, or why the Scottish Premiership title race is suddenly must-watch television, this recap has you covered. We'll walk through the Dundee vs Celtic match report, break down the Scottish Premiership table ahead of the split, and touch on the Premier League relegation scrap that's dragging in Tottenham, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, and Leeds.

F1's Silence and F2's Historic Move to North America

With F1's two April Middle East rounds canceled, the sport goes dark until Miami in early May — a gap of three to four weeks that's bled right into F2's calendar too. F2 was scheduled to support those canceled events and never race in May at all, which left the series facing a genuine scheduling crisis. The fix: F2 will now support F1 at Miami and Montreal, marking the first time in series history that F2 has raced in North America.

That's a notable shift on its own, but it's the Montreal date that creates real drama. F1's Canadian round now lands on Indy 500 weekend — a departure from the old Monaco-morning, Indy 500-afternoon, Coca-Cola 600-night tripleheader tradition. Monaco simply gets shuffled to another week. As our hosts point out, scheduling a North American F1 event on Indy 500 weekend feels like more than a coincidence, and if you're an IndyCar fan, it reads a bit like a shot across the bow.

The real-world consequence: Colton Herta, who left IndyCar to chase an F1 seat and is racing in F2 this season, was the paddock's worst-kept secret as the presumed fourth Andretti entry for the Indy 500 in the No. 98 car. That's now off the table because he'll be racing F2 in Montreal the same day. Herta currently sits 10th in the F2 standings with 6 points after just one race weekend — thin pickings, but a storyline worth tracking as the season develops.

Colton Herta, the Indy 500, and a Scramble for 33 Cars

The knock-on effect of F2's North American move is a genuine headache for the Indy 500. Andretti now has a prepped No. 98 car and, per AP reporting, intends to fill the seat — but with whom remains unknown. Teams need to be on track for the April 28th open test, which puts real time pressure on finding a driver. Even if Andretti fills the seat, the grid likely lands at exactly 33 cars, enough to make the race but not enough for a genuine bump day, which is part of what makes the Indy 500 spectacle so compelling every May. Keep an eye out for late entries — this is exactly the kind of situation that's produced them before.

NASCAR Check-In: Tyler Reddick's Dominant Start

Away from the open-wheel chaos, NASCAR rolls on with Tyler Reddick running away with the Cup Series, winning 4 of the first 7 races in the No. 45 23XI car. Ryan Blaney sits second for Team Penske, with Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and William Byron rounding out the top five. The series skipped its usual Easter Sunday slot this year before heading to Bristol for the Food City 500 on April 12th — a short, half-mile oval that plays completely differently than the superspeedways and intermediate tracks dominating the rest of the schedule. It'll have to compete for eyeballs with Masters weekend, but it's there if you need a racing fix while F1 sits idle.

Scottish Premiership Table: A Genuine Three-Horse Race

This is the heart of the episode, and for good reason. Heading into the final round before the league split, Hearts sit top on a one-point cushion over Rangers, with Celtic a further two points back in third — just three points separating first from third with six matches to play. Hearts dropped points drawing 2-2 away to a Livingston side that's effectively relegated already, sitting 11 points adrift of 12th place with only six games left. Rangers hammered Dundee United 4-2, while Celtic needed a late goal to see off Dundee 2-1.

Goal difference could decide this title. Rangers' +32 dwarfs Celtic's mark, meaning if Hearts and Rangers finish level on points, Rangers likely lift the trophy on goal difference alone. For Celtic to climb back into this, grinding out 1-0 wins won't be enough — they need goals.

The subplot here is Rangers' bizarre season: 12 draws, including five in a row to open the campaign, against just two losses all year. Turn even four of those draws into wins and Rangers are running away with this by five or six points. Instead, their stumbling start has let Hearts — the league's most consistent side, rarely dropping points in back-to-back matches — hold onto top spot by a single point, with Celtic's own inconsistency (eight losses already, a number no Premiership champion has approached since 2010) keeping them in third rather than out of contention entirely.

Dundee vs Celtic Match Report: Iheanacho's Late Winner

Celtic took the lead early through Yang in the 8th minute after an initial save, and should have doubled it in the 31st when a glaring miss went begging following a strong Daizen Maeda build-up play. Dundee leveled through Simon Murray's 54th-minute penalty after a handball call — a moment that came with plenty of needle, including Murray reportedly mouthing off at Celtic players after an earlier non-call that should have gone Dundee's way too.

With the game level and Celtic's bench thin on game-changers, a flurry of substitutions followed: Anthony Ralston on for the injured Colby Donovan, Luke McCowan replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and crucially, Kelechi Iheanacho entering the fray. Iheanacho, who's seen limited minutes since arriving under Brendan Rodgers earlier in the year, made the most of his chance, scoring the 82nd-minute winner that put Celtic back in front 2-1. A late Dundee red card and seven minutes of stoppage time couldn't change the outcome, and Celtic left with all three points.

It wasn't pretty — this Celtic side hasn't produced a genuinely dominant performance since a 4-0 win back in January — but in a three-way title fight, ugly wins count exactly the same as pretty ones.

Why the Scottish Premiership Split Suddenly Matters

This round of fixtures was the final one before the Premiership splits into top-six and bottom-six groups, something that's technically happened every season but rarely mattered given Celtic's recent run of comfortable title wins. Not this year. With Hearts, Rangers, and Celtic separated by just three points, every one of the five remaining head-to-head matches in the top group carries real weight. Circle these dates: the Edinburgh Derby between Hearts and Hibernian on April 26th, Hearts hosting Rangers on Monday, May 4th, Celtic's final meeting with Rangers on May 10th, and an absolutely stacked final day on May 16th, when Celtic host Hearts at Celtic Park at the exact same time Rangers travel to Falkirk and Hibernian host Motherwell.

Key Takeaways

Want the full back-and-forth, including the debate over whether Celtic should move on from Martin O'Neill and the Robbie Keane rumors swirling around Celtic Park? Hit play on Episode 163 and subscribe to Tackling the Chicane so you don't miss the next installment as this title race heads toward its climax.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the Dundee vs Celtic match?

Celtic won 2-1 away at Dundee. Yang opened the scoring in the 8th minute, Simon Murray equalized from the penalty spot in the 54th, and Kelechi Iheanacho scored the winner in the 82nd minute to secure all three points for Celtic.

What happened with Simon Murray's penalty against Celtic?

Dundee were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute after a handball inside the box, and Simon Murray converted it himself to level the match at 1-1. The moment was notable for some heated exchanges on the pitch, with Murray reportedly mouthing off at Celtic players afterward.

How close is the Scottish Premiership title race right now?

Extremely close. Hearts sit top on a one-point lead over Rangers, with Celtic three points back in third, making this a genuine three-horse race with six matches remaining — something the Scottish Premiership hasn't seen in this form for several seasons.

Why is F2 racing in North America for the first time?

F2 lost its scheduled April race weekends due to the cancellation of F1's two Middle East events and was never slated to race in May. To avoid a two-month gap in competition, F2 will now support F1 at both Miami and Montreal, marking the first time the series has ever raced in North America.

Why can't Colton Herta race in the Indy 500 this year?

Herta was widely expected to drive Andretti's fourth entry, the No. 98 car, in the Indy 500. That's no longer possible because F2's new Montreal round, where Herta is racing full-time this season, falls on the exact same weekend as the Indy 500.

How does the Scottish Premiership split work?

After 33 matches, the league splits into a top six and bottom six. Each team then plays the other five clubs in its group once more to finish the season. This year it matters enormously, since Hearts, Rangers, and Celtic are separated by only three points heading into the split.

Conclusion

Episode 163 captures a Scottish Premiership season unlike any in recent memory — a genuine three-way title fight where Celtic's scrappy 2-1 win at Dundee, powered by a Kelechi Iheanacho super-sub winner, keeps them firmly alive despite a maddening season of inconsistency. Layer on F2's historic pivot to North American racing and the Colton Herta Indy 500 fallout, and you've got a packed episode even in a weekend without F1. The next six weeks of Scottish football could be among the most dramatic the league has produced in years, and this recap only scratches the surface of the conversation.

Catch the full episode for the complete breakdown, including the Martin O'Neill succession debate and a deeper look at the Premier League's title and relegation picture.

Listen to the Episode

Hear the full conversation, including the complete Dundee vs Celtic breakdown and the F2-IndyCar scheduling drama, on Episode 163 of Tackling the Chicane.

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Gonzalo Montiel, 25 years of age, his first ever World Cup as a star in the Club América Podcasting from Studio 2520, somewhere near Akron, Ohio, bringing you all the latest talk in motorsport and soccer. This is Tackling the Chicane.

Well, you are 2 months-ish, 3 months away from, uh, your Gonzalo Montiel Argentina, uh, penalty kick soundbite for, uh, being needing, I guess, updated because that was from the last World Cup. And yeah, this is another World Cup year, if you can believe it or not. Yeah. Hard to believe time flies. Um, anticipation is building on the Cup coming here to the States and being played in several different venues.

So looking forward to that. Uh, it's going to give us, I think, quite a bit of, of content to talk about when once that gets rolling. I think it'll be nice and easy. Um, F1 is taking a pause, as we know. Um, I don't know if you want to talk about probably F2 a little bit before we get into soccer, just to give, uh, the fans, um, a little bit of an update on where they can watch some 4-wheel action.

Yeah, so as, as anyone that follows F1 knows, uh, that The 2 events in April were canceled, uh, due to, you know, being in the Middle East and what is happening in that region currently. Um, so it has left quite a large gap in, in competition in the world of Formula 1 where no race will be happening until Miami, which is the first weekend in May. So 3, 4 weeks from now. Um, but that presented a pretty difficult challenge specifically for F2 because F2 was going to race in April at those events, um, and it was always in their schedule that they weren't gonna race at all in May, um, because F2 traditionally does not travel to North America. And that's, you know, we had Miami in May, and I don't know what else is in May, to be honest, but they weren't gonna race in May.

So, um, that presented a unique challenge because you can't have a series just go rogue for 2 whole months. Uh, one is enough, uh, as is. And I think we're seeing the effects of that now where you lose a lot of the momentum of the season, especially like 2026 with new regulations and everything like that. Not the time to have this occur. Yeah.

And what I'm not 100% clear of is what they, the teams can do during the break.

Um, I'm not sure. I'm sure they can do development or maybe take some data and work on that over the next month. As far as I know— I know they can't test or anything. Yeah, I don't believe they can be on the track anywhere, but— But we forget, I think a lot of these cars go on testing at their facilities, like maybe some dyno stuff and trying to work out this complex powertrain that we've seen that has presented a little bit of a challenge for some drivers. But it's also injected some competition into the series.

So, yeah. Um, with that, I mean, we will, I suppose we'll, because we have nothing else to cover, we'll look at F2 races. Is that part of the package for— I don't think so. I'm not into— not entirely sure. Yeah, I've never seen F2 on there.

Okay, I'll have to look because I, I think I've seen in the past when we had F1 TV. F1 TV had F2. Yeah, and F3, uh, but I've not seen any F2 content on there. Okay. And I've heard that it's not on there, but I haven't looked myself.

But F2, um, is not racing in April either. But what they have done, because they were not going to race in May at all anyways, and they don't usually, uh, they are now supporting F1 in, uh, Miami and Montreal. That was the other event that F1 was in, um, which spells the first time that F2 has ever raced in North America. Which is kind of interesting. Um, but it means something.

It has sort of a ripple effect on— in the world of IndyCar, because if you follow IndyCar, you will know that Colton Herta left the series to pursue an F1 dream, and that has started by racing in F2 this season. Um, and the Montreal event is the same day as the Indy 500. Not only the same day, Um, you know, it, it'll basically just start it— I think it starts basically right after the Indy 500 will, um, which is a new thing, or relatively new, because for a while it had been Monaco in the morning, Indy 500, Coke 600 later. But F1 decided to not race at Monaco the weekend of the Indy 500 and host an event the same weekend as the Indy 500 in North America, which— that I don't— as an IndyCar guy, I think that's kind of a big fuck you series. So, um, where does Monaco go?

I think it's like the week after. It's just moved. They just pushed. But That's a little, um, I don't really get what the decision-making was there. Why would you race in North America the weekend of the Indy 500 if it wasn't kind of a middle finger?

I don't know. Yeah, maybe a bit. It's hard to say. Um, this means though that Colton Herta, he was going pretty much you know, the IndyCar's worst-kept secret in the paddock was that he was going to race the Indy 500 in the 4th Andretti entry, the 98 car. But obviously that can't happen now because F2 is racing the same day.

So yeah, uh, kind of a bummer. And it also kind of means that if Andretti don't fill that 98 car Um, we might be looking at a scramble to get 33 cars on the grid for the Indy 500, let alone a bump day. I anticipate that they will put someone in the seat of that car. We don't know who that might be yet. It's early.

Um, it's kind of early, but they have a car. Yeah, they have a car that's probably prepped and ready, so We've seen this happen in the past where late entries will come in. Um, you have to be there for the month of May to test. And yeah, well, the, the, uh, um, initial test is April 28th, I think. So you got to be there.

Yeah. So we'll have to keep a close eye on if that car gets a seat. Yeah, I don't, I don't know what, what they're gonna do. It's been reported that, uh, by the AP— just watched a video on this today— that they're going to fill it. Don't know with who, um, but that still, if they fill it, I believe that only has the grid at 33 cars, which is enough for the race, not enough to bump anyone.

And that's kind of part of the spectacle is bump day and getting rid of someone or more than one. Yeah. So that would suck if that weren't happening. Well, and we might see some late entries come in. I don't know.

It appears as though Colton Herta sits in 10th position in the driver standings in F2. Uh, with 6 points, which is— yeah, they've only done one race weekend. Yeah, so it's kind of hard. There's really nothing to talk about there. No.

Um, as they move forward, um, I don't— IndyCar is kind of paused until I believe it's the 19th of April when they come back, so not a lot to talk about there.

Um, and unless you want to talk about NASCAR, we could kind of shuttle that unless you want to.

Well, there's some upcoming stuff there, I would assume. There is. I don't know where. They didn't race last Sunday because of Easter, which they haven't done for a while. They, they've raced on Easter Sunday the past few years.

Uh, but not this year. I don't know what the decision was for that, but it's still Tyler Reddick at the top of the field, having won, I believe, 4 of the first 7 races. Uh, and Ryan Blaney is in second, if I'm not mistaken, in the Penske crew. So it's really right now who can beat Tyler Reddick in the 2311 camp. Yeah, Michael Jordan.

So just, uh, just looking through, it's Reddick, Blaney, Hamlin, Elliott, Byron in the top 5 for NASCAR. Not really that surprising besides, I guess, Reddick being top and by as many points as he is. And so the next race is April 12th, the Food City 500 at Bristol. Yeah, so that's this weekend, short track. Yeah, the last great Coliseum or whatever they call Bristol.

Yeah, it's, it's definitely a different race to watch because it's, uh Pretty short track. Um, half-mile oval. Yeah. But if you're looking for some something to watch this weekend, I guess you could go there. It is a Masters weekend, so that's probably where most people will be watching.

If you're of that, uh, I don't know, if you're into golf. I think even if you're not, most people will watch the final round. The best case scenario is when it lands on Easter because you have a lot of people in front of screens on Sunday trying to get away from the family. Yeah. And the ham, the ham, the Easter ham.

Yeah. I missed it by a week this time around, but I, I did notice, uh, that their, their play-ins are starting today. So yeah, first round today. Um, so yeah, I guess you can watch the Masters or you can watch NASCAR. There will be plenty of soccer on if you're of that, um, if that suits your fancy as we get into the business end of the season.

In the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, and really every league, uh, in Europe. Champions League is down to its last 8. We might have a better idea of who makes up that final 4 after pretty dominant wins from Atlético Madrid and PSG yesterday. Uh, PSG, of course, are your defending European champions. Out of France, Paris.

So can they— I guess that'll be the quest too. Can they repeat and defend their title, or will it go to someone else? Perhaps a Bayern Munich who took down Real Madrid in the midweek. Anytime Real Madrid get knocked out, which they're not knocked out yet, but hopefully I'm happy, uh, 15 times they've won that tournament, which is double the next closest team. So kind of like, yeah, I don't really— no one really wants to see them win unless you're a Real Madrid fan.

So there is that. Um, pretty short racing segment because, uh, there's not really a lot of racing going on. Indeed. So if you want to kind of shuttle to the Scottish Premiership and talk a little bit about the table first before we get into our highlighted match this week, which was Dundee v Celtic. Yeah, so it's going to be a pretty frantic, uh, race to the finish here, I think.

Here in, in Scotland. Um, I still don't know if I could split it any way right now. And weirdly, Celtic, still as horrible as they've been, are 3 points behind Hearts in first, um, and 2 behind Rangers. And there's a lot of dejection in the fan base because still really the performances haven't been that great. But every now and then, I mean, they, they'll scrape together wins.

It's just a matter of when they lose and how they do it, and do other teams take advantage of that. And we saw kind of a shake-up in the table this weekend because Hearts dropped points. Uh, they, they drew away to Livingston, who are basically all but relegated. Down in 12th place, which is last, um, 11 points adrift from Kilmarnock, uh, with just 6 matches to play. So it's, you know, it's pretty much over.

They would have to win out and Kilmarnock would basically have to lose out, and even then they would just be looking at a playoff. So Livingston is done and we have a 3-way proper fight for the title, which I couldn't even tell you the last time there was a 3-way fight for the title this late into a Scottish Premiership season. So we are already witnessing history regardless of if Hearts managed to get it done. Uh, they sit top of the table for now with a 1-point advantage over Rangers after they drew 2-2 with Livingston. Rangers took care of Dundee United, uh, at home 4-2 and are 1 point behind Hearts.

And then Celtic get a late winner against Dundee and they sit just 3 points behind Hearts, 2 behind Rangers. They are pretty far behind on goal difference, which could become a pretty serious factor here late in the season, it almost operates as another point advantage, uh, because let's say Hearts and Rangers were to tie on points, well, Rangers with the better goal difference of +32 would, would be your champion. So it, it does become a pretty serious factor, uh, this late into the season. So if Celtic need to win, and they kind of need to start winning Uh, by more than one goal if it were to work out ideally. So that's kind of where we are in the table.

What is your kind of— what's your feeling on the management of this team? Do you feel like this is the best we can do at this point and we should just press on? Well, did we see something in the future with maybe bringing somebody else on board. Although I can't, I can't say that they haven't been somewhat successful under this management. Yeah.

Martin O'Neill is not a long-term appointment. And I don't think should be at 74 years old. I mean, he was brought in on an interim basis twice this season. Let's remember twice. Um, and I don't really think he has any interest taking on another season of Celtic, really.

Would you at 74? I'd probably— yeah, it's been fun, uh, but I'm gonna go back to the golf course and sip my whiskey. Um, and I don't think Martin O'Neill should be considered as, as an option for next year, and I, I don't really think I don't think the Celtic board, for as much criticism as they garner on this show, uh, would do such a thing. Um, the rumor mill is that it's gonna be a lad by the name of Robbie Keane who has an Irish connection, which, uh, Dermot Desmond, the owner of Celtic, loves to have an Irish manager. Um, Robbie Keane, successful playing career.

He managed is Ferencvaros in Hungary right now. Pretty big club over there. Um, it's one of those things where it's really not a super inspired hire if that ends up being Robbie Keane. It's, it's sort of the safe, almost obvious hire. You know, that's kind of probably who that's gonna be.

On a scale of 1 to 10, what say you about Celtic climbing out of 3rd place and potentially taking this championship?

You know, Celtic this season have shown time and time and time again that, uh, yeah, maybe they will, they will string together results. They're not going to look good doing it. I couldn't tell you the last time, you know, we had a 4-0, I think, against Aberdeen back in January, or maybe it was Dundee United. Um, and that was the last game where I went, wow, they look really good today. Uh, You know, we haven't had a comfortable win in ages.

And they also have shown that they have a loss in them quite often, actually. Yeah. No team since like since 2010 or something has won this league with more than 5 losses. Celtic have 8 already. There's still 6 matches to go.

So The hilarious thing is they're 3 points back, right? So they could, uh, but you said scale of 1 to 10. I'd say a 5. Um, many at, at PJ's when we lost, um, what was that loss? See, we've lost so many times you can almost not keep track.

2-0 loss to Dundee United. That's what it was. That was an awful, truly awful game. Many in that environment thought the league was done and dusted there, and maybe it is, but you know, Hearts have been a little shaky, but they've shown that they're resilient. Rangers have been probably in the best form of anyone, but I think it's interesting to look at the Rangers draw.

Factor. Yeah, 12. And yeah, I think 9 of those came, um, before like November. You'll remember they didn't— they started off the season, I believe it was 5 draws in a row. Like, they started this season historically bad.

And you have to wonder Let's say Rangers turn 12 out of those 12 draws. Even if they turn 4 of those into wins, they're leading the table by 11 points.

Is that right? Hold on. No, that's not right. 6, 12 draws. 4 of those are wins.

They're leading the table, I believe it would be by 5 to 6 points, 6 points maybe. Still, the point is, if they don't have that just truly awful start, I think they're cruising to a title. Truly, 2 losses right now. They have 2 losses in 32 matches. Yes, the 12 draws But that's the only reason they're not cruising to a title.

Yeah, well, apparently it makes a difference. Yeah, if you can only draw a match versus a win, uh, we might see this team on top of Hearts. Yeah, I mean, I think it would almost be certain, uh, you know, they turn a few of those 12 draws into a win, they are in really good shape. But alas, this season has been so topsy-turvy for kind of everyone besides Hearts. Hearts have been the one kind of the steady Eddie, you know.

They're not— they don't string together 4 or 5 wins at a time, but what they do is if they lose, they don't lose 2 in a row, and that's a big deal. They don't drop points really twice in a row, hardly ever. That's the reason we're sitting here April 9th as we record and they still have the lead in the table, even if it's 1 point. No other team has shown to be consistent enough. Rangers with their draws, Celtic with their losses, and that's why we're kind of in this situation.

So yeah, I would say a 5 out of 10. I, I actually do think Celtic could win it.

Um, I think it's Rangers to lose though. I think it's Rangers' championship to lose. And you look at the starting 11 that Celtic put out against Dundee, and that is not better than Rangers currently. Absolutely not. Um, looking at the lineup, you have Colby Donovan starting at right back, who then gets subbed off injured.

So now you're at your 3rd, 4th choice right back, Anthony Ralston, because let's remember, Alistair Johnston's been hurt forever. Julian Araujo goes down, who was probably their best player since January. So now you have your 4th choice right back. The striker position's been a disaster the entire year. I just, I don't know, does, you know, and having watched this game against Dundee, yes, they get the win.

Does this team really inspire you to say, yeah, I think they'll go on and win it?

Um, only because of the fact that they seem a little bit scrappy.

Um, we can— I guess that's a good segue into this match. Um, in the 8th minute, Yang scores. It was saved initially. And then, you know, we get the, the goal in the 8th minute pretty early in the match, which that kind of helped a bit. Of course, we're on a crutched Dundee team who, yeah, hasn't really done a ton, right?

No, they've been, I would say, bad. And you can tell that by the attendance. If you looked around the pitch, their attendance is never really that great, but Not, not so great.

This one kind of went fast and furious in the 31st. We should have scored a goal. There was a— trying to see what I wrote down here. Svenjara. Svonjara.

Svonjara. I looked at the back of the jersey. There was a lot of Vowels and consonants. I couldn't really tell, uh, but he kind of weakly— he had a wide open shot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about.

This is what I'm saying. The striker position has genuinely been god-awful the entire year, going back to January of last year. January 2025, when a guy named Kyogo leaves the club, what do Celtic do to replace him? Nothing. I think Maeda had a really good first half in this game.

He made a lot of great passes, kind of set up some potential goals. Yeah, he sets up that opportunity in the 31st. And then we couldn't capitalize, unfortunately. It was kind of a weak kick. Um, then we go to the half, uh, 54th minute, a possible handball, and yes, it was a penalty shot.

Simon Murray converts. So now we're at 1-1. And can I just say what twat Simon Murray is.

I guess not a fan. Earlier in the match, there was a pretty, I mean, the penalty was there and they didn't call it. And this guy was just talking, talking, talking. Yeah. So I, I don't know if that's just his— yeah, I feel like I've seen enough of him to know he's got a little, uh, little chip on his shoulder.

I think it's fair to say. I believe I read his lips and said, fuck off, you wanker. Yeah, yeah, they're, you know, there's some, there's some colorful language on the pitch every now and again. Um, But yeah, that makes it the 1-1 in, um, you know, you're looking at that point, you're looking to the bench and going, uh, okay, who can come on and actually change the game for Celtic? And typically that answer is no one this season.

If we're being truthful, it's really no one. Um, there aren't many explosive or particularly dynamic players on this current Celtic team, um, and the ones that are are the ones that start more often than not. Um, and we get this parade of substitutions, um, in the 67th minute, no pun intended. Anthony Ralston comes on for Colby Donovan with the injury there. Get used to Ralston the rest season.

Luke McCowan comes on for Ox, Alex Oxley Chamberlain. And then we also, um, we see Kelechi Iheanacho come on in this one, which, uh, you know, the game is crying out for someone to create an opportunity for Celtic and And kudos to him. He hasn't played a lot this season for a variety of different reasons. Brought in at the beginning of the year, what, remember, under Brendan Rodgers. Um, kudos to him.

He takes advantage of his opportunity and that's kind of what you need right now. Just someone, just, I don't care how it is, just finish the job. Steady the ship. Yep. And if I can say this about him as a manager versus the other interim managers that we had early in the season, O'Neill, that is, you're talking about.

Yes. Um, he just, he kind of steadies the ship. 82nd minute, uh, Iheanacho, I think. Iheanacho. Iheanacho.

I was close.

2-1 Celtic. And then we had a late red card for Dundee, which took a man off the field. 7 minutes of stoppage, but we take this one away at 2-1. Yeah. You know, at this point, I don't care how they win.

Yeah. Just, just get the win. It's, this is just, this has been such a fuck-up of a season that— and it's hilarious that they can still win 2 trophies. 3 points down in the league— league, uh, not League Cup, uh, Scottish Cup semifinal coming up against St. Mirren, who remember beat us in the League Cup final way back in December. Um, but I guess that just maybe points more towards the fact that this league in general has been pretty topsy-turvy.

And again, we go back to that hypothetical. It's like, what if Rangers take a few of the— even a couple of those draws and turn them into wins? Well, they're top of the league and you're really chasing after them. But right now it's— it, you know, you still have Hearts, they're still top of the league, uh, and still can do it with 6 matches to go. This round coming up is the final round of matches before the split.

So the top 6 get put in a group and the bottom 6 get put in a group. This hasn't really mattered. Now, is— has that always happened? For a long time, yeah. Okay.

And because I'm looking at the table here and I haven't seen that split before, at least, uh, you have to go, go back to last year and and it'll show up. Okay. Um, but there's a reason why you probably don't even remember, or maybe you didn't know that they did it, because it didn't matter. Because Celtic has waltzed to the league title the past, what, 3 years? Didn't matter.

But now it's— it seriously matters because there's not one, not two, but 3 teams that can possibly win this title. So the split functions like this: the top 6 are put into a group, the bottom 6 are put into a group. Each team in their respective group plays each other one time to finish out the year. The, uh, home and away is random, quote unquote. That is not true, but, uh, they try to balance it out and randomize it as best as possible, but It's not really the case.

Um, so yes, that means that Falkirk, Hibernian, Motherwell, Celtic, Rangers, and Hearts will all play each other one more time to finish out the year. So your matches are only against the, the best 5 other teams. And then the, the bottom, the Group B, Group B will also play each other once. Yeah, and that one won't have a ton of drama, I don't think. Livingston are dead.

They're, they're dead and buried. Um, and Kilmarnock, it's gonna be between Kilmarnock, St. Mirren, Aberdeen, and maybe Dundee to see who will finish 11th. And the 11th place team has to play a playoff, uh, to stay in the league, um, and not get relegated. So there will be some fireworks, but most of the focus will be on that top group. Um, and like I said, you're only playing matches against the best 5 other teams, so it's, it's gonna be pretty interesting.

Now here's where it gets really interesting, because the fixtures came out this weekend and there's going to be some fireworks. There's gonna be some fireworks. Um, here's some, some highlight matches. Uh, Hearts and Hibernian will compete in the always fiery Edinburgh Derby Sunday, April 26th. So there's one to keep in your diary.

Then Monday, May 4th, here's an interesting one. Hearts take on Rangers Monday, May 4th. So it'll be a little Monday night action there. Um, that'll be Hearts at home against Rangers. I don't know if that'll be a title decider necessarily, but it could, could be.

And you know, if, if Hearts are still top of the league somehow then and somehow manage a win against Rangers, they're going to be feeling really good. Um, then you have Celtic and Rangers for the final time, one final bout with each other Sunday, May 10th. Obviously that game needs no real, uh, hype around it. Um, you have— and okay, here's, here's where it could get insane.

Saturday, the final day of the season, Saturday, May 16th. The fixtures in the top 6 are as follows, and they're all playing simultaneously, 7:30 AM Eastern time. Hibernian-Motherwell, Falkirk-Rangers, and from Celtic Park, Celtic versus Hearts. The final day. Yeah, nice.

The season— if that game has any title implication by the time it rolls around Could be an all-timer. Yeah, could be a serious all-timer. We'll keep a close eye on that, and if we need to, uh, rally the troops, then we will do that at PJ's. Um, yes, uh, I, I will say this, uh, kind of a nice What do you want to say? I— we, we like— I kind of like the fact that this is all coming down to— yeah, and I think a few matches.

Yeah, anyone would. I think anyone that was being really truthful would rather it be that way, right? I mean, I like Celtic winning titles, but it's not— I mean, it's not the coolest thing in the world to have it wrapped up. Uh, last year we had it wrapped up like now. Yeah, like mathematically.

So this gives us something to follow and watch with these matches coming up. Um, anything in the Premier League that you want to talk about? Yeah, so we're all, um, provide a little color on that. It was an FA Cup weekend last weekend, which I didn't realize. Arsenal got knocked out by Southampton the championship, interestingly enough.

But it's back to league business this weekend, and I'll just brush up on maybe some of the stuff you've forgotten in the past few weeks. You as in whoever the listener. Um, Wolves are, you know, Wolves and Burnley are probably gone, dead and buried with 7 matches to go. It's really this battle for who can avoid relegation Who can avoid finishing in 18th? Regardless, a big club is going down.

West Ham is currently occupying 18th on 29 points. Tottenham, uh, right there at 17, one point ahead. And then 3 points ahead of West Ham is Nottingham Forest, who are competing in the late stages of the Europa It might be— it's the Europa League, so they have European competition to worry about too, which is not— you know, you want to go deep in those tournaments and win them maybe, but I think they'd rather avoid relegation than win the Europa League this year. And then 4 points ahead of West Ham is Leeds. So really there's— it's, it's a 4-team kind of playoff down there to avoid 18th, uh, that final relegation spot.

And none of those clubs are insignificant or small, um, by any means. But man, oh man, if Tottenham go down, that would be nuts. That would seriously be insane. We might be staring down some insane, uh, happenings in both of these leagues. Come, uh, the end of May.

So stay tuned on that. As for the title race, I think if Arsenal win the next couple matches, they're gonna be almost smooth sailing, pretty much smooth sailing. Man City have a game in hand, but they are 9 points back on Arsenal with the game in hand. Um, 70 points for Arsenal to Man City, 61. And Man United, who could have believed this?

15th last year, they're in 3rd this season, and 1 point below them is Aston Villa. Rounding out the top 5, your defending champions who will not be winning the title this year, Liverpool. And potential calls for Arne Slot's head at Liverpool. So that might be another storyline to pay attention to for the rest of the season. I think that does it.

All right, well, yeah, we've come to the end of another podcast, and with, uh, not much racing going on, uh, can't fill a whole hour. We're pretty close, but, um, all right, well, uh, looking forward to discussing all sorts of stuff, including, uh, what could be the best Scottish Premiership title race in history. So make sure you're tuned in next time for that. But for now, I think it's time to shut her down. Okay.

For executive producer Richard Tanaka, this has been Tackling the Chicane, copyright 2026, studio 2025. We'll see you next time.